A German Feast. Rouladen, Knodel and Red Cabbage with Black Forrest Cherry Cake for Dessert.

Oh yeah, we wore these while we cooked.

I have Oktoberfest on the brain! Last weekend Ron and I slaved away in the kitchen making a German feast. I am excited to compare it to what we have in Germany. We usually only make this meal for a special occasion like Christmas dinner but I just couldn't wait! If you have some time on your hands you should give this one a try. And a special thank you goes to Ron's parents who introduced me to this dish and taught me how to make it.

Beer + Vacation = Brewcation. A Dogfish Head Brewery 360 Degree Experience.

In honor of some upcoming trips I have planned (Savannah Craft Brew Fest and Oktoberfest) I wanted to share the Brewcation that started it all. Before this trip I had visited breweries while on vacation, but not until this trip had the ONLY purpose been to drink beer. What a great time!

The beer delivery truck guy actually pulled over to take this picture for us

It Takes 2 to Mango (Mango Double IPA)

My new mango obsession along with an upcoming trip to the Savannah CraftBrew Festival recently inspired me to brew a Mango Double IPA.  This morning I finally got the finished product into bottles and shipped off to  the homebrewers contest at the festival. I will let you know the results when the come in. I tasted a bit before I sent it off and I am very happy with the results so far (beer changes flavor a bit as it ages so hopefully it will still be awesome when the judges taste it). There are an INSANE amount of hops in this beer! I am a hop head though, so the more hops the better for me. The mango is pretty mellow and comes out more in the smell than in the taste. You can also taste the citrus hints from some of the speciality hops I used. Overall, its not too sweet and not to mango-y. I am even more excited than usual about this beer because this is the first beer I brewed all by myself (Ron was working late) and it is the first beer I will ever have professionally judged. Hopefully its a winner! 

Beer Can Chicken and Roasted Acorn Squash

Sunday Ron and I spent the day at the beach. When we got home all I felt like doing was drinking some champagne and reading my book. Luckily Ron felt like cooking (or should I say grilling?)! To my surprise, he even picked out acorn squash as our side. I have never had acorn squash before and it turns out it is great :)

Bellini

Perfectly simple...

Puree some peaches and simple syrup in a blender. Stir into a glass of Prosecco or Champagne.

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Butter Sauce and Artichoke Hearts

 

I love this combination of sweet butternut squash with the earthy sage flavored butter sauce. And the best part of this recipe is that the ravioli freezes REALLY well so you can make this when you have time and/or when it is in season and have the raviolis ready to go whenever you want an easy dinner night.  Just boil the frozen raviolis, make the sauce and voila, dinner in 5 minutes!

 

Camp Bagels

This idea came from a restaurant in DeLand, Florida where I went to undergrad. (Go Stetson!) I guess it is something they were served at camp when they were little.  It seemed like a strange combination of ingredients but I and everyone else who has tried them has liked them. You can even make these on those miniature bagels for a cute brunch or party food. I used to make them for my Christmas Cookie Swap brunch when I lived in Jacksonville (sniff sniff, miss you guys).